The proposed charter school in Somerville is planned to start operation in September of next year and has an expected number of 180 enrollees. According to the founding group’s coordinator, Selena Fitanides, the school is predicted to have approximately 425 students in 5 years.

She said that the proposed charter school would be “very student-centric, really focused on the individual and tailoring the curricular and instructional needs to that individual,’’ and would concentrate on “serving the needs of children in Somerville whose first language is not English, the children of fairly recent immigrants.”

Since the children will generally come from migrant families, especially those with Spanish backgrounds, Fitanides said, “We need to find a better way to educate those kids. Our current system is not well suited to addressing their needs. We are losing a lot of these kids because they are dropping out of school.’’

The charter school will also focus on technology, engineering, building science and math, and will feature extended time in learning and shared learning within mixed ages. They will also practice involvement of the whole school community regarding decision making.

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With all the controversy surrounding charter schools these days, its time to remember why charter schools make a difference to children, their parents and the communities they serve. The benefits and advantages of a well-run institution vastly outweigh the problems that need to be overcome to run such a school. And there is certainly no reason to believe in any of the terrible myths surrounding charter schools.

It is simply a fact that public schools have problems these days and that Millions of young Americans leave high school without the proper education they need to succeed in life. Its about more than simple knowledge. Public schools fail to prepare their students for the 21st century, instead relying on outdated models of teaching and an educational approach that leaves American students behind.

Charter Schools can help close the achievement gap by expecting more from their students but also: By offering more. Both are equally important. Expecting more from their students with regard to performance and service teaches young grown-ups the valuable lesson that communities and individuals can only grow through hard work and commitment. The positive experience of witnessing for themselves the change that occurs in such an environment will be a valuable lesson during their most formative years.

The positive effects of charter schools have been shown by sophisticated studies. Charter schools simply outperform comparable traditional public schools. Depending on the respective state’s charter school law – a crucial part of charter school success – children can receive a crucial boost to their development, and they will benefit all their life.

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New York Charter Schools remain under investigation. If you read my blog a couple of days ago you know the story about a possible scam concerning the startup of several new charter schools in the New York area. Yesterday, more troubling news arrived via the New York Times. According to the Times, a charter school in the Bronx, the Academic Leadership Charter School, which opened its doors only two years ago, “has been put on probation for what city education officials called ‘serious violations’ of state law mandating random admissions, including possibly testing or interviewing applicants before their enrollment.” This is an older problem, of course, because charter schools are not allowed to pick students who they expect will do better on standardized tests, etc. over the ones that would likely do worse. Also, charter schools are not allowed to discriminate by race or religion.

Usually, admitted students are picked in some sort of lottery. In this case, however, it seems that countless applicants were excluded from the selection process. According to the article, there seems to evidence of “a system of inappropriately testing students or reviewing their previous school files, with those who did not meet the standards of the principal, Norma Figueroa-Hurwitz, being shut out.” That would be scandalous and schools who have been caught in the past have had their charter revoked – rightfully so. Indeed, there seems to be some evidence for structural pre-examinations of incoming students in place. Parents reporting of pre-lottery “interviews” and former teachers telling of orders to exclude candidates that didn’t fit the profile. Let’s hope that these allegations turn out to be false or, if true, consequences are immediate and severe for those involved. The NY charter schools need a couple of months without negative publicity.

What stuck with me after reading the piece was the founding of several for-profit organizations that were supposed to be the financial backbone of the schools. The article also quoted a Mr. Dirk Tillotson, a charter-school consultant as saying: “It signals what’s wrong with the so-called charter school community. Somebody who doesn’t deserve a charter gets a charter. Somebody who doesn’t deserve a building gets a building. And then somebody who doesn’t care about the communities can turn their head and walk away.” I don’t have a problem with for-profit organizations providing financial support at all, but it seems to me that the fraudulous behaviour of some individuals sheds a bad light on the charter school community as a whole. Again, if anyone knows more about this, do comment. I’d be very interested in hearing other versions of the story. Meanwhile, Ill keep scanning the web for more

photo © 2011 U.S. Department of Agriculture | more info (via: Wylio)

Material incentives are one part of the program, everything from IPods to Pell Grants. More interestingly, Valencia county officials are working on curriculum changes that address the cultural needs of Hispanic students. What that means is that they are in one way or another bringing back the ethnic studies that have been under attack for quite some time. News-Bulletin.com quotes Dr. Diane Torres-Velasquez, a University of New Mexico professor: “When kids were given ethnic studies, their test scores rose dramatically, up to 90-something percent.” It will be hard for opponents of ethnic studies programs to find fault with the charter school approach, after all, they are not technically public schools and if you don’t like it you can just send your kids elsewhere. Sounds pretty good to me, we’ll keep an eye on it. Please post a comment if you hear more…

photo © 2006 Samuel F. | more info (via: Wylio)

The new laws thus allow more flexibility for growth of well-performing charter schools and – to the same effect – have made it easier to start a new charter school. If you want to know more about the exact content of the legislation, you can check out the overview provided by the Florida Consortium of Public Charter Schools. There you can also find information on what it takes to become a “High Performing Charter School” or to create “High Performing Charter School System.” In an op-ed for the Florida Sun-Sentinel, Jon Hage, the CEO of Charter Schools USA, celebrated the new legislation: “Florida is now reclaiming our rightful role of reform leader. We must never lose heart in our pursuit of excellence and be willing to see through these ideas, even while ensuring we appropriately fund what works, whether traditional public schools or school choice laboratories of innovation.” I say right on!